Tuesday, December 23, 2008

In Men, Caffeine Is More Effective And Starts Working In 10 Minutes

http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/men_caffeine_more_effective_and_starts_working_10_minutes --- A study headed by researchers from the University of Barcelona (UB) shows that caffeine has a greater effect on men than women, and that these effects start just 10 minutes after it is drunk. In addition, contrary to what was previously thought, it has also been shown that decaffeinated coffee also produces an increased state of alertness.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

DNA 'fabricator' constructs walking DNA - tech - 16 January 2008 - New Scientist Tech

The goal of being able to program biochemical reactions as precisely and easily as computers crunch numbers and process words has moved a giant step closer.

A group at the California Institute of Technology, led by biomolecular engineer Niles Pierce, has created a DNA-based fabricator.


http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn13192-dna-fabricator-constructs-walking-dna.html?feedId=online-news_rss20 ---

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Coralline algae will suffer as oceans acidify | Practical Fishkeeping magazine

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1521 --- Corals are not the only reef organisms to suffer directly from increased ocean acidification, according to a study to be published in the journal Nature Geoscience.  Ilsa Kuffner, Andreas Andersson, Paul Jokiel, Ku'ulei Rodgers and Fred Mackenzie carried out a seven-week experiment examining the effects of increased ocean acidification on crustose coralline algae, a group of calcifying algae that is important in many shallow water habitats, including coral reefs.  The authors constructed six fibreglass mesocosm tanks were supplied with flowing sea water pumped from the edge of a coral reef in Hawaii.

Four Health Behaviors Can Add 14 Extra Years Of Life

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080108083001.htm ---

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Allergys from being too antiseptic? Technology Review: The New Hygiene Hypothesis

http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19997/ --- A host of explanations have been put forth to account for rising rates of allergy and asthma, including reduced rates of breast feeding, parents who smoke, and worsening pollution. But as most of these factors have been ruled out--poorer cities with high levels of pollution often have lower allergy levels, for example--an alternative explanation has taken the lead. Scientists suggest that now that many of the most harmful bugs in our environment have been eradicated with modern sanitation and medicine, our immune systems turn their attack on usually harmless molecules, such as those in cat dander or dust mites.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Jurassic Docs -- Paleontologists Teach Medical Students About Fossil Tumors

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0607-jurassic_docs.htm --- PITTSBURGH--Think you have nothing in common with a Tyrannosaurus rex or animals from the Jurassic era? Think again. A first-of-its-kind program combines med students, paleontologists, and cutting-edge technology ... And the program's founders say doctors of tomorrow will be better ... if they study dinosaurs to uncover prehistoric medical links between the present and the very distant past.  What do dinosaurs have in common with people today? More than you might think! Fossil technicians process dinosaur bones to find out. With the use of medical physics such as a CT scan of a dinosaur bone, paleontologists find themselves light-years ahead.  It's a non-invasive way to see what earlier researchers have only been able to guess.  Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Chris Beard says by studying the evolution of prehistoric animals, today's medical students can understand the origins of some common medical problems.  "This is, as far as we know, the oldest evidence of cancer in the fossil record," he tells DBIS of a softball-sized tumor in a 150-million-year-old dinosaur bone.

Why Exertion Leads To Exhaustion

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220103702.htm --- ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2007) — Scientists have found an explanation for runners who struggle to increase their pace, cyclists who can't pedal any faster and swimmers who can't speed up their strokes. Researchers from the University of Exeter and Kansas State University have discovered the dramatic changes that occur in our muscles when we push ourselves during exercise.

Photo-monitoring Whale Sharks: Largest Fish In The Sea Appear To Thrive Under Regulated Ecotourism

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226003604.htm --- ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2007) — Up to 20 meters long and weighing as much as 20 tons, its enormous size gives the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) its name. Known as the 'gentle giant' for its non-predatory behavior, this fish, with its broad, flattened head and minute teeth, eats tiny zooplankton, sieving them through a fine mesh of gill-rakers. Listed as a rare species, relatively little is known about whale sharks, which live in tropical and warm seas, including the western Atlantic and southern Pacific.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Evolution Is Deterministic, Not Random, Biologists Conclude From Multi-species Study

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119123929.htm --- A multi-national team of biologists has concluded that developmental evolution is deterministic and orderly, rather than random, based on a study of different species of roundworms.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces.

http://improbable.com/2007/11/15/donor-stool-triumphant/ --- Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces.